Means for and method of operating circular knitting machines



Oct. 29, 1963 Y I a. F. COILE 3,108,459

MEANS FOR AND METHOD OF OPERATING CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 22, 1960 IN V EN TOR. fiely'omin fian/(lin (oi/e A TTORNH Oct. 29, 1963 B. F. COILE 3,108,459

MEANS FOR AND METHOD OF OPERATING CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 22, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATM/av United States Patent M 3,163,459 MEANS FUR AND METHOD OF ()PERATING CRCULAR Kldl iTlNG MACIHNES Benjamin Franklin Coile, Athens, Ga., assignor to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pin, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 51,195 Claims. (Cl. 66-41) This invention relates to multifeed circular knitting machines having relatively closely spaced yarn feeding and knitting stations and of the type adapted to knit hosiery with turned welts, and more particularly to the provision of a machine of this type incorporating the necessary cam structure to obtain the required needle movements in the limited space between opposed stitch drawing surfaces of adjacent cam sets at one of the feeds.

conventionally in knitting hosiery with turned welts on a circular knitting machine the welt is first knit, the initial operations including the formation of make-up courses usually a first course knit on alternate needles with intermediate needles inactive, a second course knit on all the needles, and a third course knit on alternate needles with the intermediate loops of yarn of the courses held on dial bits advanced at that time to overlie the positions of the inactive intermediate needles. After the make-up the dial bits are partially retracted and knitting proceeds on all needles for the production of a length of fabric which when turned or doubled will provide the welt. The welt is turned or closed by again advancing the dial bits, which are still holding their loops, to overlie intermediate needles all of the needles then being raised with the intermediate needles penetrating the dial bits and the loops held thereon. The dial bits are then fully retracted leaving their loops on the intermediate needles and yarn is fed to all the needles and stitches knit thereon whereby the welt is closed. The series of operations described above and the conventional mechanism employed therein are illustrated, for example, in patents to Scott Nos. 1,189,744, issued July 4, 1916 and 1,282,958, issued October 29, 1918.

As will be recognized both in certain courses of the make-up and in the transfer course the intermediate needles must take other than the normal needle path. For this purpose it is necessary to provide auxiliary cams movable into and out of operation at the proper times. While auxiliary cam mechanism for this purpose has been successfully developed for circular knitting machines having one or two yarn feeding and knitting stations as illustrated in said Scott Patent 1,282,958 the same has not been true heretofore with respect to machines having a greater number of feeds where the lack of space between the feeds makes the problem of accommodating auxiliary cams acute. Accordingly an object of the instant invention is the provision in a multifeed machine, having relatively closely spaced needle cam sets, of auxiliary needle cam mechanism movable between operative and inoperative positions and located in the relatively limited space between opposed stitch drawing surfaces of adjacent cam sets, such auxiliary cams defining the path of travel of certain of the needles, particularly the intermediate needles, during various operations in forming a turned welt. More particularly an object of the invention is the provision of such auxiliary cam mechanism between cam sets spaced not more than ninety degrees apart, center to center. Another object of the invention is the provision of a modified dial bit operation 3 ,l3,459 Patented Oct. 29, 1963 to enable the bits to perform their necessary functions in association with the needle cam mechanism of the instant invention.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 329,801 and British Patent No. 790,141 corresponding thereto, hereinafter referred to as my Prior Disclosure I have disclosed a four-feed knitting machine with the cam sets for the several feeds spaced equally around the needle cylinder, the machine being adapted for the production of hosiery of either run-down, or patterned reciprocatorily knit construction. A further object of the invention is the incorporation in such machines, modified to include a dial, dial bits and the like of generally conventional type, but with certain changes in operation as will hereinafter he described, of auxiliary cam mechanism shiftable between operative and inoperative positions and located adjacent one of the feeding stations and between the stitch drawing surfaces of the upper cams of adjacent cam sets. The machine of my said Prior Disclosure embodies a knitting system wherein the needles are normally retained at a lower level when inactive but are selectively raised to latch clearing levels by needle jacks under pattern control as they approach the center and stitch drawing cam surfaces at each of the feeds. A still further object of the invention is the provision in such machine of mechanisms adapted to raise non-selected needles, i.e. needles which are not raised by jacks, to an intermediate level, to lower such needles to a level at which their hooks will pass beneath dial bits in their advanced position, and to raise the needles to penetrate said dial bits and loops held thereby, said mechanisms being movable between operative and inoperative positions under pattern control.

The knitting system employed in the machine of my said Prior Disclosure also involves the advancement of the sinkers during stitch drawing to an extent that the loops are first drawn over the nebs of the sinkers and thereafter as the needles continue to descend the sinkers are retracted so that the loops slip from the nebs to the platforms of the sinkers for the final part of the stitch drawing action.

A further object of my invention is the provision in such a machine adapted for the production of turned welt hosiery of means operable at the time the make-up courses are knit for modifying the relationship between sinker and needle movements whereby the stitches are drawn over the platforms of the sinkers and undue strain on the dial bits, holding loops during a portion of that time, avoided. A still further object is the provision of an improved method of operating such machine.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the more detailed description thereof which is to follow and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a circular knitting machine with parts omitted, illustrating my invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional View similar to FIG. 2 illustrating certain parts in their positions at a different point in their operation as compared to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are development views of needle cams taken as if looking toward the needle cylinder and showing the paths of the knitting needles in different stages of the knitting of the turned welt; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are development views showing the paths of the dial bits with respect to the needles as produced by movable cams during the make-up and transfer courses, respectively.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 there is disclosed a multifeed, specifically a four-feed, circular knitting machine generally of the character of and having needle selection and knitting characteristics of the machine of my Prior Disclosure to which reference may be made for details as to its construction and operation. The machine illustrated includes a needle cylinder 10 adapted for rotary and reciprocatory motion, four yarn feeding stations A, B, C and D each suitably incorporating a plurality of yarn feeding fingers 11, four sets of needle cam assemblies illustrated at 12, 13, 14 and 15, respectively, needles one of which is shown at 16 and which are carried in slots in the cylinder 10, and sinkers one of which is indicated at 17. All of the mechanisms together with their associated parts and operating means are described in my said Prior Disclosure and will not be further described herein except as modified for purposes of the instant invention or otherwise as explained hereafter.

The machine in which the instant invention is incorporated also includes a transfer dial 19 supporting a circle of needle penetratable sets of dial bits 20 of conventional type, there being half as many sets as needles. The dial and operating cam structure for the bits are also of generally conventional type except that the cam track for the butts of the dial bits, illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 is modified to provide for the dial bit operation required in connection with the needle operation provided by the instant invention as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The needle cam sets, with the exception of cam set 12 which includes a modification hereinafter to be described, are of the construction shown for the set (see particularly FIGS. 5 to 7). This cam set includes an upper cam 21 and a lower guard cam 22 functionally the equivalent of the cams as disclosed in FIGS. 90 to 94 inclusive of my said Prior Disclosure but preferably specifically of the construction shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 771,035, filed October 31, 1958, now Patent No. 3,095,717 issued July 2, 1963. Upper cam 21 includes an inclined needle drawndown surface 23 adapted to engage butt portions 24 (FIG. 2) of needles 16 during reverse rotation of the cylinder as in knitting at feed A and a second drawdown surface 33 adapted to engage the butts of the needles during forward rotation of the cylinder in knitting at feed D. Cam set 12 is generally similar to cam set 15 except that upper cam 25 is made of two parts, namely, a main portion 26 and an auxiliary portion 27, the latter being movable between operative and inoperative posi tions as will hereinafter be described. When auxiliary portion 27 is in its operative position the cam is the full functional equivalent of cam 21, the inclined edge 28 thereof serving to engage butt portions of the needles and draw them downwardly during forward rotation of the needle cylinder. Thus inclined faces 23 and 28 define the normal stitch drawing paths of the needles taking yarn at feed A during clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the needle cylinder respectively. When this auxiliary portion 27 is withdrawn an inclined edge 34 of the main portion 26 defines the stitch drawing path of the needles in the counterclockwise or circular knitting direction of rotation of the needle cylinder. Intermediate each set of cams is a center cam 29 functionally corresponding to the center cam 1056 of my Prior Disclosure.

In the normal method of knitting such as the knitting of run-down fabric on a machine as described above with the cylinder rotating in a counterclockwise direction, the action of the sinkers by their cams (not shown) is so correlated with the action of the needles that, as the needles descend along the cam surface 28, the sinkers are advanced as illustrated in FIG. 2 with the yarn of the new stitches being drawn over the nebs 30 of the sinkers. The needles momentarily remain on their stitch drawing level while the sinkers are retracted and then descend to a lower level to draw the new stitches onto the platform 31 and through the previously formed stitches, all as particularly described in said Patent No. 3,095,717. Also in the operation of the machine as distinguished from more conventional types the needles are raised from a lower level, their normal idle level, to their full latch clearing heights as they approach a yarn feeding station, by jacks 32 under the influence of jack raising cams the jacks so raised being selected by suitable selecting means whereby the needles to be raised and knit are correspondingly selected. The jack cams and jack selecting means are not shown herein, the jack cams however being the same as shown at 625i and 625 in FIG. 8 and the jack selecting means being similar to that shown at ILF and IRF in FIGS. 44 and 44A, respectively, of my said Prior Disclosure.

Located between cam sets 12 and 15 at the position of feed A are a plurality of auxiliary cams including a needle raising cam 40, a needle lowering cam 41, and a needle raising cam 42. These auxiliary earns, the function of which will be described hereinafter, as Well as cam portion 27, previously referred to, are supported by slides whereby they may be moved between advanced or operative positions in which they lie closely adjacent the needle cylinder for contact with the butts of non-selected needles advanced thereto while in their normal lower path and retracted or inoperative positions in which the needle butts will pass between them and the needle cylinder and continue in their lower path. In the drawings and particularly in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 these cams and portion 27 are shown in full lines when in their operative positions and in dotted lines when in their inoperative positions. Pattern controlled means are provided for so shifting the cams in their slides all as particularly illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus auxiliary cams 40 and 41 are mounted on a common slide 43 supported for sliding movement in a fixed housing 44. The cam slide is urged toward the surface of the needle cylinder under the control of a pattern drum such as pattern drum L by mechanism including a lever 45 pivotally mounted on a post 46, one arm of the lever carrying an adjustable contact screw 48 and the other arm of the lever, on the opposite side of pivot 46, being connccted by a link 49 to a pattern lever 50. Lever 50 is pivoted as at 51 to a post 52 adjacent the pattern drum L the latter being adapted for rotation under the control of a pattern chain (not shown). At the level of lever 50 pattern drum L carries a pattern or cam lug 53 having surfaces of different heights for a purpose hereinafter to be described. The follower end or nose 58 of lever 50 is urged toward the pattern drum by a tension spring 54 having its ends fastened to the link and to a fixed portion of the machine respectively. A stop screw 55 is threadably mounted in a flange 56 carried by slide 43, the stop screw being adapted to contact housing 44 to limit the inward movement of the slide and hence of the approach of cams 4t) and 41 to the needle cylinder. As will be understood, spring 54 exerts a sufficient tension on lever 50 to, in the absence of a cam lug 53 beneath nose 58, swing lever 50 toward the pattern drum causing lever 45 to rotate on its pivot 46 to permit slide 43 to move away from the needle cylinder under the influence of one or more compression springs 57 inserted between flange 56 and housing 44 to the extent permitted by engagement of a pin 59 carried in the slide with the housing. When the follower nose 58 of lever 50 rides on the cam lug 53 of intermediate or full height, lever 45 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction on its pivot by the different height surfaces on the cam lug to move the slide 43 and cams 40 and 41 toward the needle cylinder first under infiuence of compression springs 57 to an intermediate position and then to a fully in position.

As noted above cam lug 53 is provided with surfaces of different heights whereby the movement of the slide and hence of the cams toward and away from the needle cylinder will be in steps. Such movements of auxiliary cams during their insertion and retraction is well known and is employed in conjunction with groups of short butt needles alternating with groups of long butt needles as illustrated for example in Scott Patent No. 1,282,958 previously referred to. Thus in the instant case the needles are similarly divided in groups of long butts and short butts. In the insertion of the auxiliary cams the nose 53 of lever 50 engages the low surface of the cam lug partially inserting the slide and cams carried thereby during the passage of a group of short butt needles whereby contact of the short butt needles by the partially inserted cams is avoided. As a group of long butt needles reaches the partially inserted cams they ride thereon and during the passage of these needles nose 58 of lever 50 rides into engagement with the high surface of the cam lug to fully insert the slide and cams. Thereafter both the long and short butts will ride up on the cams. A reverse operation takes place during withdrawal of the auxiliary cams.

Auxiliary cam 42 is, similarly to cams 4t and 41, mounted on a slide 60 carried in a housing 61. Its movements toward the cylinder are controlled by stop screw as, lever 63, linkages 64 and 64a and pattern lever 65 the latter being urged toward a pattern drum R, of the same type as drum L and similarly operated, carrying a pattern or cam lug 66 at the level thereof, by spring 67. The cam 42 is moved away from the cylinder by one or more compression springs 68 the movements toward and away from the cylinder being performed in timed relationship to the passage of long and short butt needle groups as described above. Auxiliary cam portion 27 is also supported on a slide 70 carried in a housing 71 forming a part of the cam set 12. It is moved toward the cylinder by contact screw 72 carried in one arm of a lever 73 which is actuated by a link 74 connected to another pattern cam lever 75 located adjacent pattern drum R but at a level above that of lever 65 and in line with a cam lug 76 carried by the pattern drum R, in the same manner as the other slides. Slide 70 is moved away from the needle cylinder, when permitted to do so by the pattern drum, under the influence of one or more compression springs 77. The various cam lugs are so arranged on the respective drums to move the cams 40, 41 and 42 to fully inserted active positions from normally inactive positions and to move cam 27 from a normally fully inserted active position to a retracted inactive position for purposes hereinafter set forth.

In preparation for the start of knitting of a stocking with a turned welt on the machine described above auxiliary cams 4t and 41 are moved to fully inserted position. In the knitting of the first course at feed station A the other stations being inoperative and with the needle cylinder turning in a counterclockwise direction, namely to cause the needles to move from left to right as viewed in FIG. 5, alternate needle jacks are selected to be raised by the jack raising cam to cause their corresponding alternate needles to be raised to latch clearing height as their butts pass along a path N adjacent cam slope 23 of upper cam 21. The jack selection is made in steps, half of the jacks for the alternate needles being selected by one selecting lever and the other half being selected by a second selecting lever at a forward selecting pattern device of the jack selection mechanism illustrated in my said Prior Disclosure. A conventional pattern controlled latch opener (not shown) is positioned to open the latches of the needles as they move in their upward path. The latch opener is suitably left in operating position during the knitting of all of the make-up courses and to insure that the latches of all needles, including those specially raised by the auxiliary cam 40 as well as the alternate needles, will accurately cooperate with the latch opener, auxiliary cam 40 is so placed as to be contacted by butts of all of the needles and to that extent takes over needle raising function at the latch opening point. In the further formation of the first course the alternate needles in continuance of the path N, contact cam 29 and are lowered to the level at which they take yarn from an operative yarn feeding finger 11 and thereafter contact a stitch drawing surface of cam set 12. For the formation of the first course and the next course it is immaterial whether auxiliary cam portion 27 is in operative position whereby the stitch drawing action is performed in a normal way with the needles descending cam slope 28 or whether the auxiliary cam portion 27 is withdrawn where by the needle butts move down a slope 34 of the main cam portion 26 and the loops are drawn entirely over the platforms of the sinkers. However it is important that cam portion 27 be inoperative, having been moved to such position by the pattern drum R in the manner hereinbefore set forth, and the loop drawn by the last mentioned method during the formation of the third course in which the loops are taken alternately by the alternate needles and the dial hits as will be hereinafter explained. Hence for purposes of convenience cam portion 27 will be in an inoperative position during all the make-up courses with needle butt path N continuing along the slope 34.

The non-selected needles, namely, the intermediate needles whose jacks have not been selected for raising movement by the jack raising cam are under the control of cams 40 and 41 and will continue horizontally at their low level along a path N without being raised to take yarn or to knit, loops being formed only by the alternate needles. In the knitting of the second course preferably the jacks of all needles are selected and are raised by their jack raising cams whereby all the needles follow path N and take yarn and knit. In the knitting of the third course again only the jacks of alternate, needles are selected for raising by their jack raising cams the intermediate needles following the path N However at this time the cams, including a movable cam 80, controlling the action of the dial bits are activated to cause the dial bits to follow a path 81 (see FIG. 8) whereby the dial bits are fully advanced between the alternate needles after the butts of the intermediate needles move off of cam 41 and then are partially retracted whereby the yarn is fed alternately to the alternate needles and the advanced dial bits (FIG. 3). The butts of the bits then continue to follow the path 81 whereby the bits are further but not fully retracted in order that they may hold their loops and cam 86 is Withdrawn from operation. The knitting of this course completes the make-up.

It will be understood that all of the make-up courses are knit only at feed station A the other stations remaining inoperative at this time. The fourth and succeeding courses are then knit on all of the needles at feed station A with all of the needles following the path N or the succeeding courses may be knit multifeed by also activating feed stations B, C and D. In the latter case it is essential that all of the feed stations knit in the normal manner with the stitches drawn over the nebs of the sinkers and consequently immediately following the knitting of the third course, racking movements of the pattern drum R cause the levers 73 and 75 to return the cam portion 27 to operative position. Thereafter the needle butts follow the alternate path N (FIG. 6) during their stitch drawing movements. At this time the cams 4t and 41 may remain in active position since all of the needle butts are raised by their jacks at feed station A to follow the path N. Also at this time dial cam remains inoperative whereby the dial bits retain their partially retracted positions and hold their loops. Sufficient courses are then knit until a length of fabric is completed twice the length of the turned welt.

In preparation for turning or closing the welt following the knitting of the welt fabric auxiliary cam 42 is moved in stages to its operative position in the manner previously described under the control of pattern drum R. Dial cam 80 and a second dial cam 82 are moved to operative positions to cause the butts of the dial bits to travel path 83 (-FIG. 9). Once again alternate needle jacks are selected to be raised by the jack raising cams whereby only alternate needles follow the path N (FIG. 7). The butts of intermediate needles passing at the lower level between cams 21, 25 travel a path N in which they first contact auxiliary cam 40 the needles being raised thereby to a height that the loops held thereon cause the latches to open, but insufiicient to clear the latches. In the continuation of their path N the needle butts then travel in a horizontal direction until they contact lowering cam 41 which lowers the needles to a height that their hooks will be below the dial bits when the latter are in their advanced positions. During this latter movement of the needles the dial bits are again advanced to overlie the positions of the intermediate needles under the control of dial cam 80. The butts of the needles in continuation of their path strike cam 42 the needles being raised thereby to penetrate the dial bits and the loops held thereby and the dial bits are then immediately withdrawn from these loops by the cam 82. The cam 42 then continues to raise the intermediate needles to clear both the held and transferred loops thereon and both alternate and intermediate needles then take yarn from the active yarn feed finger 11. During this movement of the needles the dial bits are completely withdrawn by cam 82. Both the alternate and the intermediate needles then take the path N and pass down cam surface 28 to draw the loops and knit whereby the make-up courses are integrally tied into the fabric and the welt closed. Thereafter knitting proceeds in the normal manner for the completion of the stocking.

The construction as described above enables the needles, in conjunction with the dial bits, to produce conventional make-up and welt turning courses at feed A notwithstanding the lirnited space available between the cam sets and further notwithstanding the fact that the needles approach the feed station at a low level and with their latches un'cleared by the loops held thereon. The mechanism described above further enables, on a machine normally providing for the initial drawing of the loops over the nebs of the sinkers, the formation of the make-up courses, particularly the course in Which the loops are laid alternately on the needles and dial bits, without undue strain on the dial bits or the yarn. Thus referring specifically to FIG. 5 the withdrawal of cam portion 27 to an inoperative position for the knitting of this course perthe yarn of the loop drawn between the 'dial bit and the needle to contact only the platform of the sinker eliminating the strain on the yarn and the dial bits which would otherwise be caused.

Having thus described my invention in rather complete detail it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to and that various changes and modifications may be rnade all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a multifeed circular knitting machine for the formation of hosiery with turned welts and comprising a rotatable needle cylinder, a series of butted latch needles carried by said cylinder, spaced needle cam sets having opposed stitch drawing surfaces defining in part a normal needle butt path at one of said feeds, and means for selecting certain needles to travel said path at said one of said feeds, the improvement comprising auxiliary cams adjacent said one of said (feeds and located between said opposed stitch drawing surfaces, and means for moving said auxiliary cams between operative and inoperative positions, said auxiliary cams when in operative position defining a path of travel diiferent than said first mentioned path of travel for others of said needles in one direction of rotation of said needle cylinder.

2. A multifeed circular knitting machine as defined in claim 1 in which said auxiliary cams include means to raise said other needles from a lowered position to a a 8 latch opening level, means to lower said needles, and means to raise said needles to a latch clearing level.

3. In a multifeed circular knitting machine as defined in claim 1 in which said means for moving said auxiliary cams between operative and inoperative positions is under pattern control.

4. In a multifeed circular knitting machine for the formation of hosiery with turned welts and including a rotatable needle cylinder, butted latch needles carried by said cylinder, relatively closely spaced needle cam sets having opposed stitch drawing surfaces adjacent 'one of said feeds and defining in part a normal needle butt path at said feed, and means for selecting certain needles to travel said path, the improvement comprising auxiliary cams at one of said feeds and between said opposed stitch drawing surfaces for defining a path for others of said needles different than said first mentioned path, and means to move said auxiliary cams between operative and inoperative positions, said auxiliary cams including a first needle raising cam, a needle lowering cam, and a second needle raising cam.

5. In a multifeed circular knitting machine for the formation of hosiery with turned welts and including a rotatable needle cylinder, 'butted latch needles carried by said cylinder and adapted for vertical movement between raised and lowered positions, relatively closely spaced cam sets adjacent one of said feeds having opposed stitch drawing surfaces and defining in part a normal path for the needle butts at said feed, means for selecting alternate needles to travel said path a circular series of needle penetratable dial bits adapted for horizontal advancing movement to overlie the positions of the intermediate needles adjacent said one feed and at a level intermediate the raised and lowered positions of said needles, auxiliary cams adjacent said one feed and located between said stitch drawing surfaces, and means moving said auxiliary cams between operative and inoperative positions, said auxiliary cams when in operative position defining a path of travel for said intermediate needles different than said first mentioned path in one direction of rotation of said needle cylinder whereby said needles move below said dial bits and then upwardly to penetrate the same with the latter in their advanced positions.

6. A multifeed circular knitting machine as defined in claim 5 in which said auxiliary cams include a needle raising cam, a needle lowering cam, and a second needle raising cam.

7. A multifeed circular knitting machine as defined in claim 6 in which said means [for moving said auxiliary cams between operative and inoperative positions is under pattern control.

8. In a multifeed circular knitting machine for the formation of hosiery with turned welts and including a rotatable needle cylinder and latch needles carried thereby, relatively closely spaced needle cam sets defining opposed stitch drawing surfaces at one of said feeds, said cam sets at said one feed comprising a cam including an auxiliary portion and a main portion, and means for moving said auxiliary portion between an operative position in which it defines one of said stitch drawing surfaces and an inoperative position in which said main portion defines said one of said stitch drawing surfaces.

9. A multifeed circular knitting machine as defined in claim 8 in which said means for moving said auxiliary cam portion between operative and inoperative positions is under pattern control.

10. In the method of knitting courses on a multifeed circular knitting machine adapted to knit turned welts and including a circle of needles, a circle of sinkers having higher and lower drawing surfaces, a circle of retractable and advanceable dial bits, and means for feeding yam at a yarn feeding and knitting station, the steps comprising raising all of said needles to a yarn taking position at said station, feeding yarn to said needles and knitting a course of stitches thereon while said dial bits are in a retracted position, knitting another course at said station by raising alternate needles only and advancing said dial hits at the positions of said intermediate needles, feeding yarn alternately to said raised needles and said dial bits, and drawing loops of said yam only over the lower of said stitch drawing surfaces of the sinkers, retracting said transfer elements and thereafter knitting further courses on all of said needles with the loops thereof initially drawn over the higher of the StifJCh drawing sunfaces of said sinkers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Scott Feb. 12, 1918 Scott Oct. 24, 1918 Houseman July 30, 1935 Miller Oct. 10, 1950 Surratt Sept. 6, 1955 Deans et al. June 2, 1959 

1. IN A MULTIFEED CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE FOR THE FORMATION OF HOSIERY WITH TURNED WELTS AND COMPRISING A ROTATABLE NEEDLE CYLINDER, A SERIES OF BUTTED LATCH NEEDLES CARRIED BY SAID CYLINDER, SPACED NEEDLE CAM SETS HAVING OPPOSED STITCH DRAWING SURFACES DEFINING IN PART A NORMAL NEEDLE BUTT PATH AT ONE OF SAID FEEDS, AND MEANS FOR SELECTING CERTAIN NEEDLES TO TRAVEL SAID PATH AT SAID ONE OF SAID FEEDS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING AUXILIARY CAMS ADJACENT SAID ONE OF SAID FEEDS AND LOCATED BETWEEN SAID OPPOSED STITCH DRAWING SURFACES, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID AUXILIARY CAMS BETWEEN OPERATIVE AND INOPERATIVE POSITIONS, SAID AUXILIARY CAMS WHEN IN OPERATIVE POSITION DEFINING A PATH OF TRAVEL DIFFERENT THAN SAID FIRST MENTIONED PATH OF TRAVEL FOR OTHERS OF SAID NEEDLES IN ONE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID NEEDLE CYLINDER. 